The present invention relates to rare earth activated phosphors. Such phosphors are known to possess excellent light output and colour rendering properties and have been utilized successfully in many display technologies. One particularly successful material, europium activated yttrium oxide (Y2O3:Eu3+), has shown particular promise in the field of field emission display.
The successful introduction of field emitting displays is dependent upon the availability of low voltage phosphors. As the phosphor exciting electrons have a comparatively low energy (less than 2 kV) as compared to conventional phosphors and one must avoid the use of sulphur to reduce contamination, new types of material have to be used. In particular, it is desirable to be able to make phosphor particles without a surface dead layer which occurs when fine particles are prepared using a conventional grinding technique. This dead layer is an important source of non-radiative luminescence routes for low energy electrons.
It is known that collodial chemical techniques may be used to provide sub 100 nm particles of compounds such as Y2O3 and that these may be doped to form nanocrystalline red emitting Y2O3:Eu3+. However, binary oxide materials such as Y2O3 and Gd2O3 are not efficient hosts for elements other than europium. In particular, they cannot be used as host materials for blue emitting cerium based phosphors.
Accordingly, there is the need to obtain small, typically nanocrystalline, particles which will provide different emission colours.
It has now been found, according to the present invention, that as well as red emitting particles, other coloured emitting particles can be obtained when using as a host a ternary oxide, that is to say an oxide which is derived from another element apart from yttrium, gallium etc. Accordingly the present invention provides particles of a compound of formula:
ZzXxOy:RE
where Z is a metal of valency b
X is a metal or metalloid, of valency a, such that
2y=b.z+a.x, and
RE is a dopant ion of terbium, europium, cerium, thulium, samarium, holmium, erbium, dysprosium, praseodymium, manganese, chromium or titanium, having a size not exceeding 1 micron.
It will be appreciated that X must be such as will be capable of forming an anion with oxygen.
Generally the particles are nanoparticles, by which is meant particles having a size not exceeding 100 nm, generally not exceeding 50 nm and especially not exceeding 30 nm.
Z is typically trivalent or pentavalent and is preferably yttrium, gadolinium, gallium or tantalum with yttrium being particularly preferred. X is generally divalent or trivalent, preferably aluminium, silicon or zinc, with aluminium particularly preferred.
The rare earth element is preferably europium, terbium, cerium, thulium or dysprosium.
Particular particles of the present invention are those derived from yttrium and aluminium, yttrium and silicon, tantalum and zinc or zinc and gallium.
Specific compounds of the present invention include Y3Al5O12:Tb3+(referred to as YAG:Tb), Y2SiO5:Ce3+, Ta2Zn3O8 and ZnGa2O4.
Thus the particles of the present invention can be green emitting as with Y3Al5O12:Tb3+ or blue as in Y2SiO5:Ce3+ although green emission may also be obtained from the yttrium aluminium compound if the concentration of terbium is reduced. Other colours can be obtained from other specified rare earth elements, for example, as follows: orange-samarium, blue-holmium, near infra-red-erbium or white-disprosium.
In general, the particles of the present invention are in the form of single crystals.
The particles of the present invention can generally be prepared by the coprecipitation of salts of the two metals (for simplicity X will be referred to hereafter as a metal) of, the ternary oxide and of the xe2x80x9crare earthxe2x80x9d element in aqueous solution at elevated temperature which is then calcined to the oxide. According to the present invention there is provided a process for preparing the particles of the present invention which comprises:
preparing an aqueous solution of salts of Z, X and RE and a water-soluble compound which decomposes under the reaction conditions to convert said salts into hydroxycarbonate,
heating the solution so as to cause said compound to decompose,
recovering the resulting precipitate and
calcining it at a temperature of at least 500xc2x0 C.
This process is similar to that disclosed in GB Application No. 9827860.9 The water-soluble compound which decomposes under the reaction condition is typically urea, which is preferred, or a weak carboxylic acid such as oxalic acid or tartaric acid. The urea and other water soluble compounds slowly introduce OHxe2x88x92 ligands into the solution until the solubility limit has been reached. When the urea decomposes it releases carbonate and hydroxide ions which control the precipitation. If this is done uniformly then particles form simultaneously at all points and growth occurs within a narrow size distribution.
The nature of the salts of the metals is not particularly critical provided that they are water soluble. Typically, the salts are chlorides, but, for instance, aluminium perchlorate can also be used.
The reaction is carried out at elevated temperature so as to decompose the water soluble compound. For urea, the lower temperature limit is about 70xc2x0 C.; the upper limit of reaction is generally 100xc2x0 C.
The relative amounts of the two metal salts should be such as to provide the appropriate ratio of the metals in the mixed oxide. This can, of course, be found by simple experiment. Careful control of the relative amounts can be important as there is a tendency for the compounds to form a number of phases.
Doping with the xe2x80x9crare earthxe2x80x9d metal salt can be carried out by adding the required amount of the dopant ion, typically from 1 to 10%, for example about 5% (molar).
The reaction mixture can readily be obtained by mixing appropriate amounts of aqueous solutions of the salts and adding the decomposable compound.
It has been found that rather than start the process by dissolving salts of the desired elements there are advantages to be obtained by preparing the salts in situ by converting the corresponding oxides to these salts. Apart from the fact that oxides are generally significantly cheaper than the corresponding chlorides or nitrates, it has also been found that the cathodoluminescence of the resulting particles can be superior.
It has been found that better results can generally be obtained by keeping the reaction vessel sealed. This has the effect of narrowing the size distribution of the resulting precipitate.
An important feature of the process is that decomposition takes place slowly so that the compounds are not obtained substantially instantaneously as in the usual precipitation techniques. Typically for urea, the reaction is carried out at, say, 90xc2x0 C. for one to four hours, for example about 2 hours. After this time precipitation of a mixed amorphous/nanocrystalline phase is generally complete. This amorphous stage should then be washed and dried before being calcined. Decomposition of urea starts at about 80xc2x0 C. It is the temperature which largely controls the rate of decomposition.
Calcination typically takes place in a conventional furnace in air but steam or an inert or a reducing atmosphere such as nitrogen or a mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen can also be employed. It is also possible to use, for example, a rapid thermal annealer or a microwave oven. The effect of using such an atmosphere is to reduce any tendency the rare earth element may have from changing from a 3+ ion to a 4+ ion. This is particularly prone in the case of terbium and cerium as well as Eu2+. The use of hydrogen may also enhance the conductivity of the resulting crystals. Calcination generally requires a temperature of at least 500xc2x0 C., for example 600xc2x0 C. to 900xc2x0 C., such as about 650xc2x0 C. It has been found that by increasing the calcination temperature the crystallite size increases. Indeed it is possible to produce monocrystals having a larger particle size by this process. It has also been found that by increasing the crystallite size of the resulting particles the luminescence of the particles is enhanced.
In general it has been found that grain growth becomes significant once the temperature reaches 1000xc2x0 C. While there is a small improvement in crystallite size when using 900xc2x0 C. rather than 600xc2x0 C. this is relatively insignificant compared with the increases which occur once the temperature is raised to 1000xc2x0 C. or above. In general the temperature required is from at least one third to half the bulk melting point of the oxide (the Tamman temperature) which is typically of the order of 2500xc2x0 C. Best results are generally obtained towards the upper end of this range.
Time also plays a part and, in general, at higher temperatures a shorter time can be used. In general the calcination is carried out at a temperature and time a sufficient to produce a crystallite size of at least 35 nm, generally at least 50 nm.
The time of calcination is generally from 30 minutes to 10 hours and typically from 1 hour to 5 hours for example about 3 hours. A. typical calcination treatment involves a temperature of at least 1050xc2x0 C., eg. 1050xc2x0 C. for 3 hours while at lower temperatures a time from 3 to 6 hours is typical. In general, temperatures above 1300 to 1400xc2x0 C. are not needed. In order to augment crystallite size it is possible to incorporate flux agents which act as grain boundary promoters such as titania, bismuth oxides, silica, lithium fluoride and lithium oxide.
While, in the past, using a lower temperatures of calcination, crystallite sizes of the order of 20 nm are obtained it has been found, according to the present invention, that crystallite sizes of at least 50 nm are regularly obtainable. Indeed crystallite sizes as much as 200 nm can be obtained without difficulty. As the temperature of calcination increases the particles have a tendency to break up into single or monocrystalline particles. If the calcination takes place for too long there is a danger that the particles will not disperse. Obviously the particle size desired will vary depending on the particular application of the phosphors. In particular the acceleration voltage affects the size needed such that at 300 volts a crystallite size of the order of 50 nm is generally suitable.
The urea or other decomposable compound should be present in an amount sufficient to convert the salts into hydroxycarbonate. This means that the mole ratio of eg. urea to salt should generally be at least 1:1. Increasing the amount of urea tends to increase the rate at which hydroxycarbonate is formed. If it is formed too quickly the size of the resultant particles tends to increase. Better results are usually obtained if the rate of formation of the particles is relatively slow. Indeed in this way substantially monocrystalline particles can be obtained. In general the mole ratio of urea or other decomposable compound to salt is from 1:1 to 10:1, for example from 1:1 to 8:1, say 2:1 to 6:1 or 2:1 to 5:1, for example about 3:1 although higher ratios may be desirable if the initial solution is acidic and sometimes they improve yield. Typically the pH will be from about 0.5 to 2.0 although somewhat different values may be used if the salt is formed in situ. In general, the effect of the mole ratio on crystallite size is insignificant when the calcination temperature exceeds 1000xc2x0 C.
A variant of this process is needed where the initial salt can precipitate. Thus in the case of silicon, it is desirable first to form a seed particle of silicon which is then reacted to form a xe2x80x9cmetal/dope and shellxe2x80x9d around it. Thus silicon tetrachloride, for example, is precipitated from water to form a hydrated silicon oxide. This colloidal solution is then added to a solution of the other metal salts and of the dopant salt. The other steps of the process including the addition of the decomposable compound can then be carried out as discussed above. Other particles which can be prepared in a similar manner include Ta2Zn3O8 (tantalum oxide particles with a precipitation of zinc around it) doped with terbium and manganese for green and red emission and ZnGa2O4 gallium oxide particles with a zinc precipitate doped with manganese, terbium, europium or cerium.
The particles of the present invention are suitable for use in FED type displays. For this purpose the particles can be embedded in a suitable plastics material by a variety of methods including dip coating, spin coating and meniscus coating or by using an air gun spray. Accordingly, the present invention also provides a plastics material which incorporates particles of the present invention.
Suitable polymers which can be employed include polyacrylic acid, polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate. Such plastics materials can be used for photoluminescence applications and also in electroluminescence applications where an AC current is to be employed. If a DC current is employed then conducting polymers such as polyvinylcarbazole, polyphenylenevinylidene and polymethylphenylsilane can be employed. Poly 2-(4-biphenylyl)5-(4-tertiarybutyl phenyl)-1,3,4-oxidiazole (butyl-PBD) can also be used. Desirably, thepolymer should be compatible with the solvent, typically methanol, used to apply the particles to the plastics material.
Typically, the particles will be applied to a thin layer of the plastics material, typically having a thickness from 0.5 to 15 microns.
The maximum concentration of particles is generally about 35% by weight with 65% by weight of polymer. There is a tendency for the polymer to crack if the concentration exceeds this value. A typical minimum concentration is about 2% by weight (98% by weight polymer). If the concentration is reduced below this value then xe2x80x9cholesxe2x80x9d tend to form in the plastics material.